Flying Downward
by monkman
Summary: At school and at home, Duo may as well have not existed, until a chance meeting on a bridge draws him deep into the life of a boy called 'Dragon' where the demons of his past break free. AU, shonenai, hetero pairings, a bit of OCness
1. Prologue

A/N: ...um...so this is my first GW fanfic and I want to say "please be nice" but I guess you should be rough or I'll never improve upon my writing. This story is going to have both slash and hetero pairings and it will be mainly Duo-centric. Most pairings are going to be pretty obvious from the start. One thing I won't tolerate is negative comments about my pairings of choice, if you're looking for a story with a specific pairing that's not featured in my story, you are welcome to search it out elsewhere. Because this is an AU, the characters will seem OC at first, some way more than others, but I tried to maintain their base personality traits. I've been told at times I have a way of writing characters that are way, way OC but are still so very believable so I hope I was able to pull that off in this fic.

Warning: Drug and alcohol use in a manner one might consider condoning, swearing, possibly some severe angst, violence (with a good probability of being graphic), issues some would classify "adult", original character usage, I don't typos, dark overtones, shonen-ai (ie. the coupling of two boys), and implied bi-sexuality. There are probably other things I should mention, like sex, but I'm not sure if they'll be in this story so...just to be on the safe side...sex. And all the other goodies that justify an "M" rating.

Summary: At school and at home, Duo may as well have not existed until a chance meeting on a bridge draws him deep into the life of a boy called 'Dragon' where the demons of his past break free.

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Flying Downward

Prologue: _I have the same dream every night…_

The pale of the moon reflected off the water below like an ominous mist disturbed only by the shadow of a young man high above. It was late in the night, most of the town's residents cozy asleep in their beds at home. In this area, there were no streetlights. And if it were not for the full moon, the lone boy would be in complete darkness. To one side of the bridge was black pavement and manmade concrete. To the other side, nothing but dirt and ground. To the first side lay town, small and quiet. It was on the latter side, that the trees grew thick together, creeping up almost to the edge of the cliff that cascaded in a heavy slope to the still water below. Those trees beyond became a forest that breathed of wild and life. It was called Old Green by the locals.

The bridge itself was made of stone, the railing wood and rope, and it creaked near thirty feet above the river down below. For a hundred years it had stood and it would see a hundred more. It had been painted earlier that year but said paint was already beginning to peel. The paint never lasted long, as though the wood beneath loathed it and shed it as a foreign skin.

It was atop the railing that the solitary young boy stood. His arms were outstretched, as though preparing to fly, his soft featured face looked upward, his eyes were closed. His skin was fair and his hair a golden brown. Long bangs brushed his forehead, the rest of his hair dangling down his spine near mid-thigh, twisted in a thick braid. Despite a chill breeze, he was dressed in blue jeans and a black tee-shirt. His feet were bare.

There was a calm about the boy. A calm he rarely experienced. He seemed oblique, lost in the oblivion of his swirling emotions. And all was silent.

And suddenly, there was a feeling prickling the back of his neck. A heat rising up to his face beneath his chilled skin. The boy's eyes flashed open and he spun round, his braid whipping about his body in the motion.

Black. Nothing but ebony black. Black eyes. Darker than the dead of space. But so pure, the world around reflected in those spheres. Black hair. Blacker than a raven's feathers. Blacker than the mark of death. Pulled back in a small ponytail, loose strands flitting about a bronze face, cheeks dabbed with light pink. Lips a natural pout, lightly pressed together in a stoic frown.

For several skipped heartbeats, their eyes were locked. They were connected. Between them passed so much and so little at the same time. Fear, anger, confusion, loss.

_Save me._ Their hearts both pounded one.

The dark boy turned. He walked away. The connection was broken. Heat inflamed the one left behind.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: This was kind of a story idea I'd had sitting around for awhile, I apologize for the short chapters, they'll probably get longer as the story progresses. I'm not entirely 100 percent on where I'm going to go with this one but I have a pretty good idea. I think there might be a bit of supernatural type stuff later on but it will be very, very, very mild, so much so that I don't even know if it could be called supernatural. Anyways...

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Chapter 1:

The alarm clock was going off. Loud music blaring in an attempt to wake someone, anyone up. Apparently it had worked as someone was banging on the door.

"DUO MAXWELL, TURN THAT GODDAMNED ALARM CLOCK _OFF_!"

Duo rolled himself onto his stomach, staring groggily out at his bedroom. He was still dressed in his jeans and shirt from his outing the night before. As well, he could feel the dirt clinging to his feet, the only part of his body that actually made it under the covers when he climbed through his window that morning and crawled into bed, and his body still felt like ice. There was an unpleasant itch in his throat and he couldn't fight the quick series of sneezes that escaped.

"I'm going, Uncle Howie," Duo croaked, lifting his upper body up as much as his thin trembling arms allowed. He collapsed again, his face burying itself into his pillow. His hand felt its way to the offending noisemaker and deftly flicked the top switch to an 'off' position. The music subsided as did the pounding on the door.

"Well…get up, anyways, you're gonna be late for school," was the final disgruntled growl, followed by the distinct sound of Howard's departure down the hall.

After a few minutes of debating going back to sleep or not, Duo flipped himself onto his belly, pulled his body up into a slumped sitting position and blearily took in his surroundings. His room was tiny. There wasn't much else could be said about it. Honestly, Duo had seen bigger closets. There was barely enough room for his single bed that was a little too small for him. Laid flat, his feet hung off the end. His clothes were generally piled in the tinier space that had the nerve of dubbing itself the closet, when clearly the room was the closet. What didn't fit in the "closet" was usually strewn around the floor or somewhere on the bed. His walls were covered in magazine clip outs like wallpaper. Pictures of artists and their artwork, comics, graphic novels, musicians, photographs from around the world, and anything else that Duo found of interest. Anything to cover the cracked plaster that had long ago been stained a strange yellowish brown color that Duo thought better of asking about.

Duo shuffled through the piles of clothes, stumbling around his room, sniffing different garments before deciding what he was wearing would have to do. He found a couple balled up socks under his bed that didn't reek as much as the others and tugged them onto his feet. He snatched up his black boots and headed for the door when something on his shirt caught his eye.

"Damn it, it's ripped!" he muttered, holding the hem of the shirt with a disapproving cluck of his tongue. The shirt was all black save for the cartoon demon decal on the front and it was his favorite. Swearing his whole way down the hall, he made a beeline for the odds and ends drawer in the kitchen. He found a few safety pins inside and used them to secure the dangling fabric back in place. 'Uncle' Howard was already standing in the kitchen eating…well…eating something.

Howard wasn't really Duo's uncle. In fact, there was no blood relation between the two. Which was sort of a relief on Duo's part as the old man was kind of on the ugly side and didn't have much along the lines of social skills though he was a goddamned genius if ever there was one. He was about average height, completely bald on top. Circling around his neck and ears poked silvery gray hair, which was surprisingly thick and stood up straight around his shiny dome. As well, his eyebrows, mustache, and goat's beard were just as silvery gray and just as thick. The man had an endless collection of old luau shirts of varying hideous color and design which he generally paired with a grease stained white ribbed tank, khaki shorts, and tattered sandals. He was pretty wiry looking save for the large beer gut and he usually took his showers annually.

As far as Duo could gather, he had no living relatives. He had come into the custody of Howard mainly because that's who his mother had given his custody over to before she died. How she died and why he appeared to have no relatives and even why she had given him over to Howard were unknown to him. And that was how Duo liked it.

Living with Howard wasn't so bad. They both generally left one another alone to their own devices. Duo came and went as he pleased and did whatever he wanted and Howard rarely had anything to say about it. There were downsides, too, of course. Laundry never got done on a regular basis. The refrigerator was rarely stocked with anything besides beer and three week old leftover Chinese Take-Out. And Duo almost always had to fend for himself.

Duo made a little money doing odd jobs around the junkyard Howard owned which he used on necessities like soap and food and clothes. He had to find things that would last. He'd bought his boots years ago three sizes too big for his feet and spent the time growing into them. They were only now just starting to wear down but he wouldn't replace them until there were holes in the soles. He didn't have a jacket or thermal socks so he took to layering his clothes when it got cold outside but still ended up freezing half to death. He adjusted to long periods of time where he'd only eat one meal a day. Usually balanced it out by drinking a lot of water.

Sometimes Howard would surprise Duo. He'd come home and there'd be a feast cooking in the kitchen or Howard splurged and bought three large pizzas that would turn into Duo's lunch for weeks. And it wasn't as though Howard didn't care, he had just never gotten used to caring for someone else. Which was fine by Duo, he learned to take care of himself. And Howard wasn't a rich man. He was struggling as it was to keep his business alive. They lived in a small trailer on the outskirts of town in a dust covered park. They were constantly threatened with eviction. Their heat had been turned off earlier that month due to late payment and Duo had a bad feeling that electricity was going next. Duo felt he was enough of a burden on Howard without demanding love and attention on top of everything else.

"If you leave that, I can sew it for ya'," Howard offered between bites. Duo shook his head.

"Nah, that's alright, uncle. I'll take care of it later. Besides, it's all I have to wear," Duo replied. Howard would forget about it anyways but the gesture was nice.

"If you want, you could just skip school today. Work in the yard for me," Howard suggested. Duo sighed, leaning against the counter and looking out the tiny rectangular window over the sink. He had a nice view of the trailer next door, rusted over and unoccupied for months.

"Nope," Duo grinned, spinning to face the older man and cheekily remarking, "Someone in this house needs to get a high school education!" They both laughed at that but there was a sadness in their otherwise jovial moment.

After scrounging the house for a pencil, which he tucked in his pocket, gathering up his books, a few loose sheets of crumpled blank paper tucked between, Duo raced out the door. He had to run most of the way given that he was over two miles away from the high school and there was no bus. He ended up getting there just as the last bell rang for homeroom anyways. Out of breath, he slowed his pace. What was the use? He was already late. Again.

The small town, Obsidian Zion, Duo had spent most of his life growing up in was nestled somewhere at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The population was roughly twelve-hundred, most of which lived in cottages spread out around the mountainside or in the small cluster of houses dubbed the Emerald City that served as a sort of suburbia for the town. Duo was the only student at Obsidian Zion High School, or Oz High, that resided in the trailer park which technically lie just outside of the township.

Quietly, Duo slipped into homeroom where the teacher, Miss Po, had lay a detention notice on his desk at the back of the room. He sighed, trying not to notice the few eyes staring his way. Miss Po was at the front of class lecturing about something or the other that didn't hold Duo's interest at all. He took out a piece of paper instead, busying himself with doodling. He started with the eyes, almond shaped. Colored them in as dark as he could. All the while, his mind wandered back to the night before.

Who was that boy? Duo hadn't really thought about it all morning but now it was nagging him. He could swear he'd never seen the boy before but he felt like they'd known each other, perhaps in another life. Duo snorted softly at that one. He felt as though he even knew the boy's name, like it was on the very tip of his tongue. In fact, it almost felt like…like a…like a dream.

When the bell rang, Duo sat back. He hadn't realized he'd been drawing all that time but a perfect rendition of that boy's face stared back at Duo from the paper. Frowning deeply, he folded the sketch roughly and shoved it in his book, packing his belongings to head to his next class.

"Mister Maxwell," Miss Po's voice called and Duo paused in the doorway while students pushed past. She motioned for him to come towards her desk and he trudged forward.

"I'm sorry I was late…" he started.

"Again," she interrupted, "This is the third time this week. On Monday you didn't even show until five minutes to bell ring and that is an absence mark in the records."

Miss Po sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose and Duo fidgeted in front of her desk, wishing she would hurry this up before he was late to his next class. She really was a pretty woman, a bit on the young side. She was half-Chinese which showed distinctly in her facial features, though her eyes were blue and her hair blonde. It gave her an almost angelic appearance which made it surprising that she was yet to be married.

"I'm sorry, Miss Po, I think there's something wrong with my alarm clock, you see I always set it but I don't think it's going off at the right time and I really…" Duo gave a feeble attempt which only earned him a distinct look of discontent. Miss Po held up her hand and Duo's rambling fell silent.

"And what's the excuse for not paying attention in class?" Duo hung his head in defeat as Miss Po turned her hand palm side up. He sighed, tugging the picture he'd drawn out and passing it to his teacher. She unfolded it, staring for a moment before commenting, "This is very nice." He was surprised when she handed it back.

'Very nice'. No one had ever said that about Duo's drawings. Of course, no one had ever seen his drawings. He tucked it securely in his book again, treating it as a priceless treasure.

"I'm worried for you, Duo," Miss Po spoke up again, and the genuine concern in her voice took Duo back a bit, "You may show up late but you're here everyday and I _think_ that means you _want _to be here. But your marks are always so poor and I just know that you could do better. You've a lot of potential, Duo, and talent." She motioned to the book with Duo's drawing and he placed a hand over it, eyes downcast.

"If only I had the brains to match," Duo muttered. He startled when Miss Po's soft hand covered his, her eyes boring into him.

"You are _not _stupid, Duo Maxwell, and don't ever let yourself believe different," she pulled away, shaking her head and straightening the things on her desk as though suddenly nervous, "You just need to learn to pay better attention in class. And drawing portraits of fellow students isn't exactly considered constructive classroom behavior. Now you'd better get to your next class before you miss anything important."

Duo nodded a bit numbly, starting for the door. But something had caught him off guard. Had Miss Po really just called his mystery boy a fellow student?

"Duo, wait," Miss Po called after him, waving a paper at his back, "Take this hall pass. That way you won't have two tardy marks in one day!"

Taking the pass, Duo smiled weakly and offered up a quiet 'thank-you'. She had to have been mistaken, he decided as he left the room and wandered through the empty halls towards his science class. She must have just noticed it was a young teenager and assumed it was one of the other students. Who else would he be drawing, right? But she had to be wrong. After all, the boy Duo had seen last night was definitely Asian, of that much, Duo was certain, and there were only a handful of Asians even living in Oz and only one Asian student actually attending Oz High.

Duo would know if it was _that_ guy.

No. The boy Duo had seen last night didn't match any of his fellow students. Duo was sure of it. He'd never seen the boy around school. He would have remembered someone like that. Someone so intense. With such sharp angular features. So slender and dark. Nope. Someone like that would have definitely caught Duo's attention.

As Duo reached for the door handle to his next class, it swung away from him and someone nearly knocked him down as they pushed past.

"Move out of the way, idiot," was the whispered snarl of excuse and Duo turned to snipe something back but was only quick enough to catch a flash of pure black before whoever it was disappeared round the corner.

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I don't think I should pester you, but I would love it if you could review. Please, please, please! Thank you. More chapters will come later.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: This story has been so hard for me to write and I'm really starting to dislike it. I'm getting over a serious writer's block with this one and I'm struggling a lot with the atmosphere I want to capture. It's frustrating...oi...

And I was so happy to discover a few people reviewed! I thank you all very much; hugglesbunny, snowdragonct, and hellfire. I would reply to you all personally but my brain's a little foggy right now. Um...I could've sworn I was going to say more...but I don't remember. Oh well, not that you came to read my author's note anyways. Story's down below...

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Chapter 2:

Duo practically collapsed onto the lunch table as he slid into the bench. He was ready to pass out from exhaustion and it didn't help - it never helped - that he was starving and could only afford a can of soda and a bag of chips from the vending machines. He tossed the junk food to one side of his books and let his head collapse into his folded arms. It was then that he heard the exaggerated sniffing sound. Duo perked his head up slightly, looking around the eating area. His eyes were quick to locate the one making said nasal noise and an inward groan started its way to his mouth..

A group of students had taken occupancy of the table behind Duo's and while most of them paid little heed to him, three boys in particular were looking his direction. It was the one in the middle, with the square jaw and angular eyebrows, that was coyly sniffing the air. His nose was wrinkled, disgusted. Duo frowned, doing his best to ignore them. He knew the boy as Trant Clark, captain of the football team and president of the asshole club, his friends were Alex and Mueller, giggling like school children beside him.

"Do you smell something?" Trant asked slyly of his comrades and quickly the two boys were sniffing the air in the same manner as Trant. Duo's heart was pounding in his chest. He tried not to look back at them, did his best to focus on opening his bag of chips.

"Yeah…yeah…I think I smell it too," Alex was saying.

"A real bad smell," Mueller eagerly blurted out.

"Real, real bad,," Trant agreed, "Like shit. Like a walking pile of shit."

Duo's head sunk low onto his pile of books. He tentatively tucked his nose into his chest taking a slight sniff. They weren't entirely wrong. He may not have smelled like a walking pile of shit but the scent was very near. He'd showered the other night, though he hadn't any shampoo, only a quickly diminishing bar of soap. But he hadn't washed his clothes in some time.

Considering they didn't have a washer and dryer at the trailer it wasn't easy for Duo to get his laundry cleaned. He would usually save whatever change he could over the course of a month, trade that in for quarters at the General Store, and carry his dirty clothes in a black garbage bag to the Laundry Mat in town. There, he would do as many loads as he could afford and then carry them back home in the same bag. He didn't have very much change last month so he only got a couple loads done. He'd been yelled at more than once for stuffing the washer too full and on the threat of being banned made a habit of only filling the machines halfway.

"The school really ought to do something about that," Trant was going on, speaking loud enough for everyone in the general vacinity to hear, "I mean, don't they have hygiene rules or something like that."

"I know. I feel like I'm going to vomit here. Can't a guy enjoy his lunch without having to smell the toxic waste dump," Alex chimed in, shooting Duo a meaningful and particularly nasty look. Duo curled his hand into a tight fist, small tears forming in the corner of his eyes. He wasn't sure if he was going to break down crying right there or just start swinging at whoever was nearest until a placating hand gently rested on his shoulder.

"Don't listen to them," a soft voice flitted in his ear and he turned his attention to the newcomer with flowing blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.

It was odd for him to be able to call someone like Relena Peacecraft a friend. She was beautiful, for starters, with her voluptuous figure, creamy complexion, and soft pouting lips. Not to mention, she was rich. Well, not incredibly rich. Well-off was more like it. Eh. Who was he kidding. She was richer than he'd ever wish to be. She was also an honor student, a cheerleader, Junior Class President, and on weekends she volunteered at the animal shelter. To be honest, if she weren't one of his closest friends she would - well, despite being one of his closest friends, was more like it - she disgusted him. After all, how the hell could anyone be so perfect?

Relena set her tray of cafeteria food down and slid into the seat across from Duo, smiling warmly at him.

"You should hose that dog off before you sit there, Relena," Trant was saying, "I think it might have been rolling in its own feces again." Okay, that one hurt.

Duo imagined that part of the reason Trant was so cruel to him was because Relena was a close friend. Freshman year, Trant had asked Relena to be his girlfriend. He figured she was beautiful and rich and he was handsome and an up-and-coming football player, so it only made sense that they should date. Relena flat out rejected him in front of the whole school. It was probably the most mortifying experience for Prince Charming. It didn't help that later she was seen hugging Duo and rumors quickly spread that she was dating the braided outcast. Ever since then, Trant had gone out of his way to make Duo's life miserable. The funny thing was, Relena _was _dating someone and had been since, pretty much, kindergarten. And it sure as all hell wasn't Duo. But Trant wouldn't dare try and pick on _that _guy. So Duo got the brunt of the jock's misgivings.

It didn't help - it never helped - that Duo was an easy target.

"Trant Clark, even if there was a dog that had been rolling in its feces at this table I would rather sit next to it over you," Relena shot back, "In fact, a steaming bag of shit would smell like roses compared to you. And it would look better too." The look on Trant's face was classic. It went from smug to crushed to angry to put-in-its place in about ten seconds flat. The latter part was mostly due to the young man that had taken a seat next to Relena, wrapped an arm protectively around her waist, and was now burning his deep cobalt blue eyes into Trant's own beady ones like laser points on a sniper rifle.

The boys were quick to turn back to their own lunches and their two would-be victims turned their own attentions to their table. The newcomer who had put an immediate stop to Trant's antagonizing was, of course, Relena's actual boyfriend, Heero Yuy.

At first glance, the relationship made absolutely no sense. Relena was beautiful, popular, charming, sweet and full of goodwill and cheer. Heero, on the other hand, just wasn't. Sure, he was good-looking. Okay, maybe that was giving him too much. He was alright, nothing special. His eyes were his most striking feature, sloe shaped, but he usually hid them behind thickly rimmed glasses that he really only used for the computer but he seemed to like wearing all the time. His chin was way too weak and he had that long, sloping Japanese nose. His skin was a bit pale, probably because he spent so much time inside on his computer, and he was dressed in a button up shirt and casual dress pants. Up until four hours ago, Heero had been the only Asian Duo was aware of enrolled in the school. Heero was only half Japanese though which accounted for the fact he was rather on the tall side for an Asian boy, standing almost a good two inches taller than Duo. Heero had a pretty athletic build, as well. He was slender but all muscle and Duo, for the life of him, couldn't quite figure out how that was possible seeing as how he'd never seen the guy so much as lift one weight or even do one push up. He was actually excused from P.E. classes! But then, Duo didn't know much about Heero. No one really did. Except Relena, of course.

Heero and Duo didn't get along very well. It wasn't as though Duo didn't try. Heero just didn't like him. But Duo never took it personally given that Heero didn't seem to like anyone. He was a rather serious person, always on guard. He rarely allowed any emotion to slip. He didn't talk much either, which didn't work well with the fact Duo tended to talk non-stop. Especially when nervous. And Heero had a way of making people nervous. It was something about the way he looked at everyone as though to say, 'cut the bullshit and stop wasting my time'. The only person Duo had ever seen Heero have more than a one-word conversation with was probably Relena.

Duo had once thought most of the fear for Heero had come from the fact he was an office aid and pretty much knew everything about everyone at the school and was not afraid to blackmail with it. But that was only a small part of the trepidation. Apparently, Heero had some sort of power. He could make things happen. Bad things, if he wanted. The last person to cross him was a young lady that put out a rumor about Relena sleeping with a good deal of young men in the class and even a girl or two was thrown into the mix depending on who was retelling the story. It didn't sound like much but it had been pretty bad. Duo had found his friend crying in an empty classroom because of the nasty things people were doing, like writing 'slut' on her locker.

Heero went to work almost immediately. It took him two days to trace the rumor back to a particular girl, Luna. In the span of a week, Luna was suspended from school, a warrant was put out for her arrest and her savings account was emptied, the records indicated that the money had largely been spent on web porn. And just as all of that was in the process of being cleared up, her father received a mysterious job transfer to a rural city in Louisiana. The family had to pack up their belongings and move. The old rumor died quickly and a new rumor started crediting Luna's horrible last month at Oz High to Heero. He made no comment and only snorted bemused should Duo ever ask about the incident. Duo wasn't sure how much or even if all of it could be accredited to the quiet young man but he sure as hell stayed out of the other's way and did his damndest not to piss him off.

"Duo," Relena was saying, looking about the table in front of the braided boy, "Tell me that's not your lunch!"

"Okay," Duo laughed, popping a chip in his mouth, "_That's_ not my lunch. But it kind of a weird thing for you to want me to say, considering _that _is my lunch." He took a large gulp of his soda as Heero rolled his eyes and Relena went into a speech about proper eating habits. Something about needing vegetable and protein from meat and how too much refined sugar would sit in your colon and rot away the insides of your stomach until there was nothing left but a gargantuan blob of grossness.

"Oh, lay of 'Lena," a new voice chirruped and Duo put up a wide grin, "He's eating like everyone else in the school. Only you and your wacko boyfriend buy the nutritional balanced meal crap the lunch lady slops out."

To say Hilde Schbeiker was Duo's best friend would be the greatest understatement of the century. Relena was a best friend, Heero was…well…Heero was barely an acquaintance, more like the acquaintance of an acquaintance of an acquaintance. But Hilde was like Duo's other half. If there was no Hilde, there would be no Duo. She had been the first friend Duo had made in Oz. He was in first grade, she was just starting kindergarten. A bully stole her teddy bear, Duo came to her rescue only for her to break the bully's nose and rescue him. They had been practically inseparable ever since. She used to live in the trailer park with Duo before her father got a job when Duo was in the fifth grade and moved the family to the Emerald City. While they didn't hang out quite as much now that she no longer lived in the trailer park, their connection pretty much remained intact. Some would say she was like a little sister to him but that didn't seem quite right. An arm might be more accurate or even a leg. Maybe just half his body. Yeah, that was about right. She was like half his body.

Hilde plopped down into the seat next to Duo and took a big bite of her own lunch, a giant cheeseburger. She pushed her fries Duo's direction and he helped himself. Hilde was a tomboy, plain and simple. She'd never owned a dress or skirt her entire life. Her hair was almost always kept at or above shoulder length. When it was longer she always had it up in a ponytail, when it was short - well, it was short. At the moment, she'd dyed it blue. It was clipped close to her scalp and a few gelled bangs bounced around her face. She had the sweetest of smiles, though, and blue eyes that betrayed her innocence. She always offered to share everything with Duo and sometimes he didn't have the strength to refuse her.

"Hilde, you shouldn't encourage him," Relena argued, a rosy color flooding her cheeks. Duo noted amusedly how Heero's eyebrow had arched at the 'wacko boyfriend' comment

Both boys could sense another debate about to break out between the two girls. It wasn't as though Relena and Hilde didn't get along. It was quite the opposite actually. They were as close as friends could get without being…well…without being whatever the hell one would call Hilde and Duo's relationship. They just got along best arguing. A concept Duo never exactly understood but it worked for them. For a brief moment, Duo considered attempting a conversation with Heero while the girls argued. But after a look that seriously would have dropped Duo dead on the spot could looks kill, Duo thought better of it. He let his eyes and mind wander instead.

At first, Duo didn't realize that the glinting black was really in front of him, it was far too mingled with his memory of the night before. But it struck him hard back to reality. There, across the eating area, stood the boy from the night before.

At least, Duo was sort of sure it was the boy.

He was Asian, that much was certain. Those almond eyes were unmistakable. But he was different. Very different. For starters, his hair wasn't tied back, falling in loose delicate strands about his shoulders and framing his face. The prim and proper demeanor that had clung to the boy the night before was no where in sight. Before, the boy had been dressed in loose fitted white pants that clung to him at the ankles. He had been dressed in a dark tank top as well that draped regally over his slim, well-toned frame. But this boy was dressed in oversized worn jeans and a large black hooded sweater that engulfed him. It made him appear so much smaller than he really was. He had a red beanie pulled over his head, a gold emblem of a dragon on the hem.

He seemed to be alone, sitting on a lunch table bench, his back to the tabletop. He was eating a white ball-like food, shaped almost like a bun, ripping pieces off and slipping them in his mouth. There seemed to be something red on the inside.

For a few skipped heartbeats, Duo thought the boy was looking at him. But then he realized that wasn't the case. The boy wasn't really looking at anything. He seemed lost in his own world.

"Duo…Earth to Duo," Hilde was saying, suddenly waving her hand in his face and he snapped back to his table, narrowing his eyes at her in annoyance. A blush crept to his cheeks then as he realized his friends were all staring at him. Even Heero's interest seemed a bit piqued at the zoned out braided boy.

"What are you looking at?" Relena asked, straining to find the object of Duo's dazed glare, she smiled disarmingly, "A pretty lady, perhaps?" Duo looked at her in confusion, stammering a half-finished 'what". Hilde laughed at that.

"Let me translate for you, buddy, she means a smoking hot babe," Hilde said between laughs and Relena gave her an indignant look.

"I most certainly do not!"

Meanwhile, Duo's gaze flitted back to the boy across the way. "Do any of you know that guy?" Duo's words surprised himself and his friends all turned to him first before following his pointed look.

"Which guy?" Hilde questioned, scouring the direction Duo was looking for who he could possibly be referring to. Even Heero submitted to a glance.

"That guy, there," Duo cried, almost outright pointing before he caught himself, "The guy with the eyes…in the red beanie."

"Oh, him," Relena replied casually as though disappointed, settling back into her seat, "I'm not sure, I don't think I remember his name…"

"He's in the junior class with you big kids," Hilde sighed, then shrugged, whistling, "Don't know."

"He goes by Dragon," Heero interjected. But said no more. Which irritated the hell out of Duo.

"I see. Dragon, huh?" Duo mumbled, then queried, "When did he start?" The answer was blank stares.

"What do you mean?" Relena spoke up.

"I mean, when did he start?" Duo growled a bit, growing all the more frustrated. Why were they being so difficult? "He's new, right? When did he start?"

"He's not new," Heero stated simply. Which took Duo back a bit. The school wasn't all that large, Duo was sure he knew every student, if not by name than sight alone.

"Duo, he's in our math and history class," Relena pointed out. Which, of course, came as shock to Duo.

"Well, that explains a bit," he chuckled, and though he seemed to turn his attention back to his friends, his eyes never really left the mysterious boy, "See, I do some of my best artwork in math and as to history class - well - it's history, I sleep."

"Duo," Relena groaned disapprovingly, readying a lecture about paying attention and working hard towards good grades.

"That shouldn't make a difference," Heero grunted, unknowingly saving Duo from the impending lecture, "It's not like this is his first year."

"What do you mean?" Duo questioned, a slight quaver in his voice. He felt like his heart was going to stop. He was still trying to get past the idea that the boy from last night was a student at the school. A student Duo didn't even know existed until that day but he apparently shared classes with the entire year. And now Heero - which, by the way, this was probably the most he'd ever spoken to Duo in the entire time they'd known one another - was suggesting Duo had shared the same space as this boy for years.

"He's been going to school with us since the third grade," Heero clarified. Duo's mouth dropped.

"What?!" he exclaimed, gaining a few strange looks from the students at neighboring tables, "How is that possible? I don't recognize him at all! I swear, I've never seen the guy."

"I'm not surprised," Heero scoffed, before turning a scornful glare Dragon's direction, "He barely shows up to school. If he does, it's not usually for long. I won't be too surprised if he takes off today before the final bell rings. I don't know why he bothers, he might as well not even be here." Duo could relatate to that.

"Why the sudden interest, buddy?" Hilde asked, trying to appear nonchalant, though the twitch in her lip suggested otherwise. Duo flushed, finally forcing his eyes away from Dragon and towards the lunch table.

"He just…he looked like someone else…some boy I ran into last night," Duo dimly explained. Hilde furrowed her brow.

"Ran into last night…_where_?" she demanded. Under that heated glare, Duo could tell no lies, even if he really wanted to.

"Bridge," he mumbled and needed give no further explanation. Relena let out a small gasp and Hilde took in a quick breath of air. Heero was a statue, a bird might as well have taken a shit on him, he wouldn't of cared.

"You went to the bridge last night _again_," Hilde cried, "Jesus Christ, Duo! I thought you were gonna stop doing that."

"No wonder you look like hell," Relena admonished, "Dark circles under your eyes. You look like you got maybe two hours of sleep last night."

"Actually, it was more like two minutes," Duo admitted, which went about as well as his bridge admission.

"Duo Maxwell, what on earth possesses you to make that long trek up to that ancient bridge in the middle of the night every night?" Relena demanded roughly.

"I don't go every night," Duo argued, then sighed and relinquished, "I don't know." He was saved from any need of further explanation as the bell rang, announcing the end of lunch period.

Duo caught one last glance of Dragon before he disappeared with the crowd. And that time Duo was certain they had met eyes.

* * *

A/N: Normally, I don't like Relena and Heero plopped into an established relationship. I prefer subtle crushes where those two are involved but they're not really the focus of the story anyways, so what do I care? Well, I do care, 'cause it's my story...but still...for some reason I felt they needed to be in a relationship and now I don't remember what that reason was...

I promise they'll be more Dragon (aka WuFei, obviously) in the following chapters.

Hey, has anyone been watching that Bionic Woman show? That guy Jae reminds me so much of WuFei. I know he's Korean and WuFei is not, but I still can't help but think of 'Fei everytime I see the guy; which isn't often 'cause I don't really watch the show.

That's all for now. I think. More later.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

History had to be Duo's least favorite of subjects, which meant he loathed it more than P.E. and, yes, even science. It also had the misfortune of being his last class of the day which meant he had generally exhausted his energy reserves and was ready for a nap just as Mr. Kushrenada, the history teacher, opened his mouth to lecture. And, given the fact that Mr. Kushrenada did most of his lecturing without ever looking at his class once, Duo, for the most part, got away with sleeping all the way until dismissal. But that day, Duo wasn't interested in napping. Or even the day's lesson.

Duo was still having trouble grasping the idea that he had somehow missed the presence of this one, singular boy entirely over the past eight years or so. But this, Duo decided, was downright unacceptable. For it seemed Dragon did indeed share history class with him. In fact, Dragon sat one seat over to the left of Duo, with only an empty desk between them.

At first, Duo dared a few glances Dragon's way so as not to alert the boy. But after a few daring peeks, blushing furiously all the while, Duo came to the conclusion that it wouldn't really be a problem. And it was quickly becoming apparent how Duo could have possibly missed the other boy. In class, Dragon was rather unimpressive. He sat slumped in his chair, hands driven deep in his pockets. His beanie was missing from atop his head and his hair hung wisp like around his face, pushed messily behind his ears. His eyes were steadily on the teacher but whether he was paying attention was yet to be determined. He wasn't taking notes like Relena, at the front, delicately writing in her notebook, glancing up every so often to pay careful heed to what Kushrenada was saying. Or Dorothy Catalonia, Valedictorian shoe-in, who furiously scribbled on the paper in front of her. And the book on Dragon's desk wasn't opened. They had gotten brand new history texts that year and Dragon's looked as though it had never been touched. As far as Duo knew, it had probably never even left the classroom.

Dragon didn't move much. Which Duo found to be very odd given that he, himself, had a great deal of difficulty sitting still for too long. Every now and then, Dragon would shift almost imperceptibly. If Duo weren't watching so intently he would have missed it all together. Dragon's eyes seemed glazed over which led Duo to the decision he wasn't paying attention at all, it was even possible he was asleep with his eyes open. Duo was beginning to find it laughable that he had even thought for a minute that this Dragon was the boy from the bridge. The looks may have been similar but the aura was completely opposite.

That boy last night was alert and aware. He stood proud and strong. If that boy had gone to school with Duo for eight years, Duo would never have been able to pull his eyes away. Hell, no one could have. He was like a celestial being. And celestial beings definitely stand out.

But this Dragon? Duo was beginning to understand Heero's contempt. And that was a scary thing for Duo because never in his entire life did he ever want to understand anything about Heero. There was nothing proud or strong about this Dragon character. It was almost as if he wanted to fade into his surroundings.

Duo had to be sure though. For a brief moment, he wondered why he was so obsessed with the boy from last night but he shook it off quickly. All he knew was he suddenly wanted to find that mysterious boy and Dragon was the closest candidate. Because looks were obviously deceiving, Duo realized he was going to have to flat out ask the kid. But the thought of that put his blood on ice.

The dismissal bell startled Duo. He'd no idea that the end of class was near. He gathered his books and by the time he looked up again, Dragon was gone. First, Duo would have to find Dragon, then he would work on gathering the courage to ask if he was the celestial boy.

Duo met Hilde outside of the school. She was talking about wanting to go shopping. She begged Duo to come with her, pouting real pretty despite knowing he didn't have any money to spend and she knew he hated shopping. Most of the store clerks tended to stare at him when he perused their items as though they expected him to stuff merchandise in his boxers right then and there. Regardless, twenty minutes later they were both peering into the windows of stores off Main Street.

They passed a store with something in the window that caught Hilde's eye so she tugged Duo inside. She busily scanned the clothing racks as Duo attempted to make himself appear non-threatening, glancing over the jewelry they had at the front counter. He smiled politely at the older woman behind the register who returned a dour expression.

"Hey, do you remember anything about that kid?" Duo called over his shoulder. Hilde was plucking a shirt from the messy rack, checking the price tag.

"What kid?," Hilde replied distractedly.

"The kid from earlier," Duo sighed, turning around to watch his friend. She scrunched her nose and then smiled, giggling a bit to herself as she worked another shirt out of the pile.

"From lunch?"

"Yeah. Dragon, was it?" Duo pressed on, as if he'd forgotten, like he could, having thought about the boy all day, "Heero said he'd been going to school with us since third grade, you must remember something about him."

"Why? You don't," Hilde pointed out, stopping her browsing to meet his stare, "Honestly Duo, why are you so interested in him?" Duo shrugged a bit sheepishly, turning back to the jewelry, toying with a few dangling necklaces.

"I'm not really _that_ interested in him," Duo mumbled but he was sure he was lying and sighed a bit, "I just keep thinking about that guy from the bridge last night."

"Another one of your odd obsessions," Hilde clucked, but Duo ignored her, continuing on.

"I don't know why but I can't get him out of my head. I don't know for sure if Dragon is him, actually, I'm almost certain he's not. They look a bit alike, there's not a lot of Chinese boys our age around these parts, but they're not really alike. You know?"

"No, Duo," Hilde sighed, "I don't know. You can be so goddamned strange sometimes, you know that? Until last night you didn't even know Dragon existed, even though he was right in front of your nose for years, and then you happen to see a boy that looked similar to Dragon on a bridge you shouldn't even have been on in the middle of the night, and now you're obsessing over Dragon!" Duo looked crestfallen, like a child who'd had his toy taken away, poking at a few of the bracelets laid out on the counter and Hilde took a deep composing breath, "Fine. Why are they not alike?" 

Duo perked, "I don't know what it is exactly," he started, turning to face his friend, "I mean, the boy last night and Dragon look a lot alike but other than their appearance, they're almost opposites! Dragon doesn't seem like much, if anything at all. Nobody even realizes he's there half the time. Believe me, I've watched people nearly run into him. Twice in history class Mr. K forgot to count him when sending back papers! But it's not even like the guy cares, he never once said anything about it. But the boy from last night. It was almost like he had his own light, ya' know? It was as though I could feel he was there before I even saw him! Like, his presence was enough to announce him. Like some invisible trumpet was blasting and a big voice was saying, 'HERE HE IS'. Nobody would have dared run into him and Kushrenada would never have missed handing a paper to that guy! And Dragon seems so simple…like kind of plain and sloppy looking. But the guy from last night…well…he was really…beautiful."

Hilde was frowning, chewing her inner cheek. Duo knew that look. Years of her being the Yin to his Yang had taught him to know that look. She was worried about him. Or more particularly, worried about his sanity. He slumped his shoulders, grumbled a bit, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"What is it?" he demanded. Hilde half smiled, shrugging slightly.

"It's just…you've really been studying this guy," Hilde mumbled, "And…it's kind of…well…creepy. In a stalker short of way. And it's just…I can't believe you really don't remember ever seeing him…_even once_!" Then a sly smile slipped over Hilde's features and she asked jokingly, "Hey…you don't have a crush on him, do you?"

Duo's face turned bright red. Hilde's smile faded.

"You don't, do you?"

"On who? Dragon?" Duo questioned, his voice a bit shaky, "I didn't even know the guy went to our school until this morning." He hadn't even considered that part of his obsession with the mystery boy on the bridge could be attributed to some deep seeded attraction. And, Duo realized a bit mortified, he had just described the guy as beautiful.

"Well…good. Because from what I've heard about Dragon around school, he's not really the most 'there' of people," Hilde said, stepping up to the counter with her purchases. The older woman at the register had been eavesdropping on their whole exchange, her facial expression changing with each statement and it was obvious from the way she looked between them she didn't want them in her store. She quickly rang up Hilde's things and the two teens left

"What do you mean by that?" Duo inquired, relieving Hilde of her bag, not so much out of chivalry but more so he had something to do with his hands.

"I mean…he's kind of a bit…well…faded. His brain's busted or something. That's the rumor, anyways," Hilde explained. Duo frowned a bit, drawing his brow together.

"You mean…he's retarded?"

"I guess. But that's just what the kids say," Hilde continued, "I've heard a few things about him at school, so I'm not entirely sure what's true. That's just the most popular rumor. Some kids say he was born slow but most say…well…they say he is slow, but he wasn't always like that. The rumor goes, he got in a fight with a couple jocks the summer before middle school. The story usually mentions Trant Clark and Trowa Barton but I can't confirm it."

Duo nodded, the two made sense in the story. Trant and Trowa had been best friends all through middle school. Trant was a rising football star and Trowa ruled the basketball court. They were also the two biggest bullies on campus. People had called them the Terrible T's. Duo himself had his head flushed in the toilet on a number of occasions by the terrors. And then something happened, as to what, no one knew for certain but suddenly out of the blue the two no longer wanted to be around each other. No one really looked to closely into it though, because the majority of people were relieved.

"They say Dragon got really messed up in the fight. That the jocks cracked his skull open. I guess he was supposedly in a coma for weeks and the doctors were saying he would probably be a vegetable. Miraculously, he woke up, but he was severely brain damaged from the experience."

"Jesus," Duo murmured. He thought back to the dim expression Dragon wore in class and realized the scenario fit. That settled it. There was no way Dragon could be the mystery boy. The boy on the bridge had intelligence brimming in his eyes. He'd been immensely and completely aware of his surroundings. Nothing like one would expect a brain damaged boy to be.

"Have you thought," Hilde began and Duo glanced her way, "That maybe…I don't know…it was a dream?" Duo chewed his lower lip.

"I was at the bridge last night, Hilde," Duo argued and Hilde shrugged.

"I'm not saying that you weren't," Hilde replied, "But maybe…I don't know…you fell asleep there or something…and you dreamed you saw someone. You may not have ever noticed Dragon before but you've seen him, Duo. Maybe you just…I don't know…subconsciously put him there…"

Hilde and Duo parted at the corner of Main Street as Emerald City was just up a couple blocks and Duo had a two mile trek ahead of him. There was that awkward moment as Hilde paused to ask Duo if he wanted to come over for dinner. He hated when she did that. He could munch on her fries for lunch, but he sure as hell was not going to take hand-outs from her family like some vagrant on the streets. He mumbled an excuse about needing to do his homework and spun quickly away. While walking towards the trailer park something occurred to Duo. Hilde hadn't seemed so concerned with the thought of her male best friend having a crush on a boy so much that said boy in question was quite possibly brain damaged. The idea was comforting to Duo.

Duo frowned. A dream. The bridge, the boy…all of it…a dream? The thought had occurred to him. And then, Duo halted suddenly, not knowing why. From the corner of his eye he caught a flash of dark black and tilted his head to get a look across the street.

-0-

Heero busied himself with the filing as he tried not to let Relena's eyes following him around the office become a distraction. She had that way of looking at him that caused the hair on the back of his neck bristle and made him completely aware of her presence. So much so that he couldn't focus on anything in front of him. It had always been that way since the moment he'd met her, standing in the sandbox, blue sundress billowing at her knees, and those penetrating eyes. She'd introduced herself, "My name is Relena…" and Heero had been inexplicably drawn to her ever since.

School had been over near an hour and a half and Relena was patiently waiting for her boyfriend to finish the duties he took so seriously so that they could get something to eat with one another. She had taken up occupancy on the office secretary's abandoned desk and was calmly kicking her leg.

"I know you promised to get all of the filing done, Heero," Relena finally broke the silence, "But I'd really rather the janitor not lock us in the school again." Heero quirked an eyebrow at her.

"You didn't have fun last time?" he questioned with a sly smirk and a pretty rose color spread across Relena's cheeks. He slipped another file into its rightful place before crossing the room to sweep a kiss onto his girlfriend's lips. She smiled sweetly up at him when they parted. He quietly informed her, "I have a job to do. You know that I can't leave until my objective is complete."

Relena couldn't help the giggle that escaped. She clamped a hand over her mouth and watched Heero's muscles relax under the mirth in her eyes. She was one of the few people in school that didn't find Heero's way of speaking irksome. In fact, it was one of the many things she loved and understood about the boy. Few people knew that his mother had died from illness when he was very young, nor that he had been raised by a cold and distant military man. Heero's father was usually abroad but what little time he did spend at home became boot camp training sessions for the son. Father's little soldier. There was no warmth at home for the young boy and he grew up running through drills in his spare time, studying war and battle tactics. Relena had been the only one to cling to him, to shed light into his life, and ultimately, salvage what little childhood was left to save in the boy.

Heero leaned in to press another kiss to the soft skin of her forehead just as the office door swung inward. The two teens broke apart and turned to the entering blonde. A single dark eyebrow shot up in a rather amused expression.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all, Dorothy," Relena smiled reassuringly, her voice never faltering. Heero set his jaw firm. They watched the tall intruder as she strode into the office, her eyes circling the entire room before landing once more on the couple.

There was a strange tension that clung in the air between Heero and Dorothy. Despite what could only be described as drastically different personalities, the stiffness in their gestures and authoritative command in their tones was immensely similar and it often sent chills down Relena's spine. She had to remind herself that it was largely due to the fact that they were both cousins and had been raised in similar militant environments. After all, their parents had been soldiers raised by soldiers who in turn had been raised by soldiers and so forth and so one. But the rift between the two was no where near as obvious in explanation and Relena had yet to procure the story on that topic from her boyfriend.

"What do you need?" Heero demanded and Relena lay a soothing hand upon his forearm. Some of the tension in his muscles relaxed ever so slightly under her touch.

"What am I always here for?" Dorothy replied and when she saw how unwavering her cousin remained, she sighed emphatically and remarked, "I'm here to check my standing." By standing, she was referring to her candidacy as class Valedictorian.

Relena had always admired Dorothy's straightforward determination. She had never bothered with boys or friends or other such social trivialities. Her mind had always remained diligently focused on school. While Relena had maintained good grades throughout her academic career, she had never been able to put all her energy into her education. Dorothy had strode to be on top. She did not accept failure. It reminded Relena so much of Heero, who was similar but his focuses were elsewhere. And despite her boyfriend's distaste of the other girl, Relena liked Dorothy. Dorothy was one of Heero's few relatives who regarded her as more than just "the girlfriend".

"I'm sure nothing has changed since last you checked," Relena laughed, "You'll be Valedictorian for certain."

"Don't be so sure," Dorothy scoffed and Relena had to raise a brow at that while Dorothy continued muttering, "Last time I checked…every time I check…"

"She has competition," Heero explained, taking a small amount of pleasure from that statement as Dorothy's face fell.

"I wouldn't call it competition," she started and Heero snorted humorously at that. Relena could never be sure but there'd always seemed something playful in Dorothy and Heero's arguments. As though it were all some sick sadistic game picking out one another's flaws and waving it around for the world to see.

"Neither would I," Heero said, "Though Dorothy would like to think she were competition."

"Oh shut up," Dorothy snapped. A confused frown flitted across Relena's pretty features as she watched Heero cross the room to the secretary's computer, logging into the system.

"What does that mean?" Relena asked. Dorothy sighed and Heero glanced up momentarily before returning his attention to the computer. Relena was used to their 'need-to-know-basis' behavior and opted to not let the lack of response bother her. After a brief moment of silence, Heero's clacking at the keyboard the only noise in the room, Dorothy let a cat-like smile seep across her face and she sauntered over to Relena, placing a friendly arm over the other blonde's shoulders.

"Don't you worry your little head over me and my silly problems," Dorothy cooed, something wicked crossing her features, and she slyly dared a glance her cousin's direction, "Tell me something."

"Yes?" Relena pressed innocently. Dorothy's delicate finger came to rest on the pout of her lip as Heero gave her a ghastly glare.

"Have you managed to make a man of my cousin yet?"

It took a full ten seconds for the question to sink in and both Relena and Heero's eyes went wide, color flooding their cheeks.

"After all, he is at the peak of his sexuality," Dorothy continued, her two companions' faces growing redder all the while, "They don't call them 'raging' hormones for nothing. And I would think, what with that magazine under his…"

"Dorothy, if you finish that sentence, I _will _kill you," Heero stated, the calm of his tone slightly ruffled. Relena simply sat wide-eyed and a bit pale. Dorothy let out a giggle that was quickly cut short when Heero added, "And you're still losing."

"What?" she cried, "How is that possible? Last week I turned in an extra credit assignment for Lit which should have me at one-hundred and five percent! There's no way I'm still in second! Unless the grade hasn't gone into the system yet…"

"Fortunately, though, it has," Heero beamed. Dorothy's bottom lip quivered ever so slightly but she composed whatever emotion was bubbling beneath the surface and let her unwavering confidence take over once again.

"Well then," Dorothy said matter-of-factly, "I guess I'll just have to work harder." She spun abruptly on her heel towards the door but paused to look back and meet Relena's eyes, "I'm not so foolish as to think you two have done the unholy. You're both so obvious about your virginity. I do apologize, though, for using you to get at my cousin. Relena, you're far too sweet putting up with my wicked tongue. However, as to you, Heero, fuck off." The door slammed shut behind her.

Heero stared uncertainly at the back of his girlfriend's head, waiting for the 'magazine' comment to fully take effect. To his surprise, Relena burst into a fit of laughter and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dorothy really does try so hard," Relena finally managed to say between chuckles, then after another moment of laughter, "Does she honestly believe I don't already know about that magazine under your mattress?" Relena turned, leveling her gaze at Heero as his entire head turned red.

"You…what?" Heero sputtered, then a hasty, "I can explain that…"

"I may be as innocent as Dorothy so often points out," Relena informed him coolly, "But that is a department in which I most definitely do not need nor want explaining. I do have a brother, Heero."

Heero smirked at that, his turn to laugh, saying, "I can't imagine your brother being the type to know about 'that department', let alone allowing his 'sweet sister' know anything about it." Relena joined him in the chuckle.

When their mirth died down a bit, Heero resumed his filing and Relena watched with gentle eyes. After some time had passed, Relena asked, "Who is it?"

"Hn?" Heero peered over his shoulder.

"The one, that Dorothy is competing with, for Valedictorian. Who is it? I'd always thought that she already had the title. I could never imagine anyone able to knock her out of the ranking…except perhaps, yourself," Relena said, batting her eyes in a flattering manner. Heero arched his eyebrow at that.

"You aren't so low in the ranking yourself, Miss Peacecraft," he pointed out before shaking his head, "Though neither of us are close enough to be much of a threat to Dorothy's standing. It's Chang, actually, WuFei Chang." Relena furrowed her brow at that.

"WuFei Chang?" she repeated dimly, deep in thought, "I don't recall him." Heero snorted softly, returning once more to his filing.

"Really? Your friend, Maxwell, was very interested in him at lunch today."

-0-0-

Dorothy turned the corner from the office and stopped, pressing her back against the wall. Her entire body was trembling and she wasn't sure her legs would hold her upright any longer. She let a few warm tears slip down her cheeks before furiously wiping them away and choked back the rest threatening to spill.

"Treize," she hissed. He was still holding her back. She knew he was waiting for her like a hunter laying bait. He wanted her to come to him but she wasn't going to break. She had tried so hard to put distance between her emotions and him. Tried so hard to focus on her work and hope he'd let things slide, let her get along with her life. How foolish she had been to think he'd let her go just like that.

A sudden noise brought Dorothy's attention upward and she found three boys standing at the end of the hallway staring blankly at her. They had a basketball and jerseys slung over their shoulders and were easily recognizable as part of the school's team. Their names were at the back of her mind but she wouldn't give the sports stars the satisfaction of recognition.

Volatile emotions sprung to the forefront and Dorothy sneered at them, "What are you meatheads looking at?"

They blinked sheepishly and continued walking past her down the hall. One of them, obviously more gutsy than the others, brushed her arm as he past and she could smell his sweat and feel the heat of his body. He gave her a once over, his brown hair covering one side of his face so that only a single green eye was visible and caught hold of her glare on his way up. He refused to look away and Dorothy felt her heart pound angrily in her chest as the boys disappeared round the corner. She didn't move again until the heavy exit door slammed shut marking the boys' departure from the school.

Taking a moment to compose herself, Dorothy left the school as well, a single harrowing thought in her mind. Eventually she was going to have to confront Treize Kushrenada.


End file.
